Leakster says Samsung Ativ Odyssey is coming Jan. 24

A 4-inch Windows Phone handset

The @evleaks Twitter account has a great track record when it comes to phone leaks, so when it says that Samsung's Ativ Odyssey is coming out Jan. 24, we listen.

The Ativ Odyssey was originally scheduled to be released in December, according to an announcement by Microsoft.

But the Odyssey's release didn't go down as planned - during CES, Verizon was showing off the Windows Phone 8 handset like it was big news still.

Nevertheless, a formal release date still wasn't announced, and the only hint we got was from @evleaks.

Verizon responds

TechRadar asked both Verizon and Samsung to see if either company had anything to share in light of this report.

A Verizon spokesperson responded only to refer us to the company's CES announcement, which stated that the Ativ Odyssey would be released "soon," while a Samsung rep merely commented that pricing and availability have not yet been announced.

Underpowered, but just right

The phone itself is rather unremarkable, specs-wise, and underpowered compared to other Windows Phone 8 handsets like the Lumia 920 and HTC's Windows Phone 8X.

Its rumored 4.65-inch display turned out to be just 4 inches and with a resolution of 800 x 480. What's more, the 8-megapixel camera that was supposed to be on the back is only 5 megapixels in reality.

The rest of the phone's specs are decent, but nothing to write home about at this point: a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1080p video capture, a 1.2-megapixel front camera, 8GB of storage, LTE and a microSD slot.

On the other hand, no doubt there are those waiting for a Windows Phone 8 handset that they can actually fit in their purses or pockets, unlike Nokia and HTC's massive offerings, and the Ativ Odyssey could well be just right for them.

Now let's just wait and see whether it actually comes out on next Thursday.